Thanksgiving Dinner Secrets: Tips to Eat Less and Not Gain Weight at the Thanksgiving Table
Posted: Monday, November 23, 2009
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
America's Thanksgiving buffet dates back to Governor Arthur St. Clair of the Northwest Territory, who proclaimed Christmas day, 1788, the first Thanksgiving Day.
How do you like celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving on the same Day? I think it's a pretty neat idea.
Thanksgiving or Harvest Fest, as the observance was originally known, began with turkey from the get go. That December 25 th in 1788, " Settlers at Columbia, today's Columbia Tusculum, invited a group of Shawnee Indians to share a feast of turkey pot pie at tables set up on the bank of the Ohio River."*
It is not likely that Americans would kill and eat their national bird. And eating eagles would never have become common as eating turkey. But unfortunately for turkeys, Franklin lost, and eagles have celebrated Thanksgiving along with the American masses ever since.
It is safe to assume, though, the eagle family does not have turkey for Thanksgiving meal. And that's where eagles have the advantage over Americans. It is believed the average American consumes about 18 pounds of turkey every year*, most of it on Thanksgiving Day, when some 45 million turkeys kiss the knife and bite the plate.
So if you're a turkey-chewing American, how do you remain thin like an eagle when the table is set for the annual Thanksgiving buffet? Here are some helpful, healthy tips for the eagle-minded American.
Secret #1: Use a good variety of foods for the Thanksgiving meal, but keep the volume of the meal down. With other menu items to choose from, you won't have much stomach space for turkey meat.
Secret #2: Invite more people to share your family's Thanksgiving meal. If it is not feasible to host so many people, pack some plates and take them to a family or two.
Secret #3: Eat a big breakfast on the morning of Thanksgiving Day. Of course, you know this shouldn't be a turkey breakfast.
Secret #4: Drink a glass of water or juice about 30 minutes before the eating frenzy begins. The liquid will take a big bite out of your craving for gobs of food, which means you'll eat less and still feel full. Drinking water half an hour before eating not only makes it easy for food to go down a wet and more slippery throat, but it also serves good digestion, so that you escape Thanksgiving bloat.
Secret #5: Take and chew on smaller chunks of food. If you are a shoveler like me, then use a fork rather than a tablespoon to guarantee you'll take in smaller measures of food that will keep each mouthful at minimal size.
Secret #6: Chew your food a long time before you swallow. Besides the benefit of effective digestion, this prolong chewing will also add to a feeling of fullness with much less food.
In case you're worried that eating less may result in much of your Thanksgiving meal going to waste, remember it is unlikely that most of the people eating with you will use these eagle secrets. You can bet those uninitiated eaters will clean out what you leave behind. Of course, like all good Americans your fellow eaters will probably waste a lot of food anyway, as with eyes greedier than their bellies they will pile more on their plates than their mouths can consume.
I wish you a thinner, happier Thanksgiving Day.
* Source: Cincinnati Enquirer
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Thanks for the history of this day when we can express out thankfulness to the Lord. And for people who don't acknowledge the Lord? Who do they express their thankfulness to? Hum.... Enjoyed reading this piece, Mogama. MarijoGood question, Marijo. I appreciate your comment. ~mogama~
Great ideas, Mogama. And, a great history lesson.Happy Thanksgiving!Thanks, Ken, for your comment. I'm having a good one; my wife cooked a Liberian dish (cassava leaf) that we rarely have. ~mogama~
Interesting article Mogama, and funny too. Happy Thanksgiving, and remember to drink that water before you sit down to eat!Thanks, Brianna, for reading. I'm glad you saw the fun side of the article. I was thinking about this article while we ate our Thanksgiving meal. ~mogama~
Great article, Mogama,But I do have a queston, "eating less may result in much of your Thanksgiving meal going to waste" ? American tradition holds that many people eat their entire Thanksgiving dinner the next day (& possibly the following day as well), lunch on turkey sandwiches, make turkey soup and finally use the last tidbits for turkey tetrazzini and turkey a la king. My main dinner provides for 5 or 6 additional wholesome meals. That is one of the great joys of the Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey dinners.Good diet points and you are correct,Well, Nancy, I never thought of all those other creative options. Go for it. Like we say in Liberia, "Before good wastes, let belly burst!" ~mogama~
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